ASIA/CHINA - Death of Bishop Mattia Chen Xilu of Kinghsien.

Kinghsien (Agenzia Fides) - Bishop Mattia Chen Xilu of the diocese of Kinghsien (Jingxian/Hengshui), died in Jizhou Hospital in the mainland China province of Hebei, on 16 January. The Bishop, almost 80 years old, was in a coma following a cerebral haemorrhage. He was born on 6 February 1928, into a family which had been Catholic for generations. In 1943 he entered Jingxian minor seminary and then continued his studies in Tianjin and Beijing. In 1949 he taught at Wang Fuma elementary school in Beijing. In 1950 he entered Shanghai major seminary and was ordained a priest on 18 May 1955 by the future Cardinal, Bishop Ignazio Kung Pigmei.
After his ordination he worked as a doctor at Jingxian general clinic devoting his spare time to evangelisation. In 1958 he was sentenced to seven years of prison and hard labour. In 1969 he returned to his home town only to be sentenced to another ten years of forced labour. In 1979, partly rehabilitated, he was allowed to teach English at the middle school in his village. Mgr Mattia did his best, as far as it was possible in those times, to continue his pastoral mission on Saturdays and Sundays, travelling, as a salesman when necessary, to visit the faithful who had been dispersed and to evangelise in villages and families.
In 1980 when there was greater religious tolerance, he resumed his pastoral activity. He worked to promote the opening of a dispensary in Jingxian and the Catholic Xi Lu Optical Centre. People who worked with him remember him as a kind and zealous priest, theologically well prepared, loyal and always ready to defend the rights of the Church. He was Vicar General of the diocese when he was informed of his candidacy to become Bishop: he confessed he did "not possess the virtues necessary to become a Bishop”, but was “ready to obey whatever the Holy See should decide”. On 28 October 1996 he was ordained coadjutor Bishop to assist Bishop Pietro Fan Wenxing, whom he succeeded in 1999. On 12 March 2002 he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and never regained consciousness. On 6 January 2004 the pastoral government of the diocese was entrusted to his Coadiutor, Bishop Pietro Feng Xinmao.
The body of Bishop Mattia Chen Xilu was exposed in Jingxian Cathedral where there were daily masses and recitation of the rosary. The funeral on January 22 was presided by Bishop Pietro Feng Xinmao, assisted by Bishop Giuseppe Li Liangui of Sienhsien (Xianxian), and Bishop Pietro Fang Jianping, Coadiutor of Yüngping (Yongping/Tangshan). All the priests and women religious of the diocese, about a hundred seminarians from Hebei and two thousand faithful took part in the Mass and procession.
Jingxian dioceses is situated about 300km south east of Bejing, and it has 25,000 Catholics assisted by 40 priests, most of them young, 30 parishes and 40 places of worship. The diocesan Congregation of Our Lady of Good Counsel has more than 60 women religious who assist the sick and the elderly and visit families. The diocese has 15 major seminarians and 8 minor seminarians and it runs four clinics and a Home for the Elderly.
A good number of the Chinese martyrs canonised in 2000 by Pope John Paul II were from this diocese: including nine members of the Wu family. When grandfather Paolo Wu Anjyu tried to lead the family to safety in the countryside they were all captured and questioned: “Are you Catholic Christians?”. “Yes we are”. “Then we will kill you”. “You can kill us but we will be Catholic Christians for ever”. Bishop Mattia Chen often attributed good results in evangelisation to the witness and intercession of those Christians. He made sure the diocese kept their relics with special devotion. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 25/1/2008; righe 50, parole 681)